Abstract
The açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is a tree native to the Amazonia. In some states in the region, growth of the planted area has been observed, but the difficulty in obtaining substrates which are viable for the production of seedlings is high. It was intended in a first step to evaluate the effect of seed size and substrates upon germination and in the second step, to evaluate the initial growth of seedlings of E. oleracea on different substrates. The experimental design was a completely randomized design in 2 x 2 factorial scheme with four replications at 100 seeds. Germination percentage, percentage of abnormal seedlings, shoot and root length and dry weight of the seedlings were evaluated after 70 days. In the second step, completely randomized design in 9 x 6 factorial scheme with five replications with four seedlings/ plot was utilized. At 60, 90 , 120 , 150 , 180 and 210 days after transplanting, shoot height and diameter of the stem of the plant were assessed, number of leaves were determinate at 90, 120 , 150, 180 and 210 dat and at 210 dat, determinations of dry weight of the shoot and root system were conducted. These samples were put in an oven with forced air circulation at 60 ºC for 72 hours. Açaí seeds considered large present greater germination percent as compared with small seeds and the substrate sand provides greater percentage of seed germination. The substrates composed of 75% (soil+sand) + 25% manure and with 75% (soil+sand) + 25% carbonized rice husk present better development of açai seedlings.
Highlights
The açai palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), a palmaceae native to Amazonia, has stood out economically for the market potential of its products represented mainly by the palm heart and by the juice extracted of the fruit [3]
According to Carvalho & Nakagawa [6], seed size may be related with the amount of reserves, observing that in large seeds fast synthesis of secondary compounds important to germination occur, greater production of photosynthetic tissue demanded in the growth of the seedlings and increased survival capacity take place under unfavorable conditions
The values obtained in the present study corroborate with the ones found by Beckmann-Cavalcante et al [3], who working with different substrate in the germination of seeds of the juçara and açai palms, found that the substrate sand provide greater germination percentage 73.7% and 59.0%, respectively
Summary
The açai palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), a palmaceae native to Amazonia, has stood out economically for the market potential of its products represented mainly by the palm heart and by the juice extracted of the fruit [3]. The most effective way of reintroducing those species in the environment with conservation and commercial exploitation purposes is through seeds [23], since the propagation of palms is obtained almost exclusively by means of seeds. It presents slow, uneven germination and, often, with low percentage, influenced by several factors as the degree of maturation, the presence or not of the pericarp, the time elapsed between harvest and sowing, the temperature of the place, the substrate, the shape, the size and volume of the seed, among others [19]. The objective in this study was to determine the effect of the seed size and of different substrates on germination and on the early growth of açai seedlings
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